A new push for European democracy

Delivering on our promises

The rule of law is the cornerstone of our democracies. It is also integral for the future of our economies and for Europe’s security. That’s why we committed to prioritise the rule of law and give a new push to European democracy. With authoritarian regimes trying to undermine our values, and our free and open societies, we cannot take democracy for granted. We have to fight for it every day anew.   

During this mandate, we developed laws to defend and strengthen democracy, counter foreign interference, fight disinformation and protect the freedom and pluralism of the media, as well as the safety of journalists. And we took unprecedented action to uphold the rule of law in all Member States. We put in place an annual Rule of Law Report, with tailored recommendations for each Member State to prevent breaches of the rule of law and to strengthen it further. 

When dialogue was not enough, we used the tools at our disposal, such as the newly established conditionality mechanism and infringement procedures. We have addressed challenges to the rule of law firmly, to protect our European democracy and our free and open societies. 

Promises kept

Strengthening and safeguarding European democracy 

• The European Democracy Action Plan set out measures to promote free and fair elections, strengthen media freedom and counter disinformation.
• New laws on political advertising, electoral rights and party funding, were adopted in March 2024.
• To help fight disinformation, in 2022 we strengthened the Code of Practice against disinformation.
• The Anti-SLAPP initiative, agreed  in November 2023, is providing the best possible legal protection to EU journalists and human rights defenders.
• The Defence of Democracy package, adopted in December 2023, is a set of new rules to enhance transparency and democratic accountability.
• We published specific guidance in 2024 for Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines to promote best practices that strengthen the resilience of our electoral processes.
• We agreed the creation of an Ethics Body covering all EU institutions that sets standards on ethics for all institutions and ensures regular coordination between them.

Defending media freedom

• With the European Media Freedom Act, the Commission laid out for the first time a set of common safeguards to protect media freedom and pluralism in Europe.
• We adopted a Recommendation on ensuring the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists and other media professionals in the European Union. 

Strengthening tools to uphold the rule of law 

• The Commission produced annual Rule of Law Report, which gives concrete recommendations to Member States on how to strengthen the rule of law nationally.
• The Budget Conditionality Regulation allows for the suspension of payments or financial corrections in cases when the rule of law is not being upheld in a Member State.
• Recovery and resilience plans under NextGenerationEU may include milestones on strengthening judicial independence and other aspects related to the rule of law, which the Member State concerned will have to implement in order to receive a full payment.
• The European Commission started infringement procedures to protect the rule of law and EU values in several Member States. 

Giving Europeans a say on the future of Europe 

• The Conference on the Future of Europe ran from April 2021 to May 2022 and enabled people from all Member States, ages, and backgrounds to share their ideas on the future of their Europe in an open and inclusive debate.
• Building on the legacy of the Conference, the Commission took the lead in introducing a new generation of Citizens' Panels to enhance public participation in EU policymaking.
• We upgraded the 'Have Your Say' portal into a single-entry point for all our citizens’ engagement tools.

Read more about these achievements